Smart solar windows could power your home and also keep it cool

A new solar cell material could create windows that produce electricity and help keep your house cool.

The research involved a three-way juggling act. The new material not only had to be transparent like ordinary glass window but also harvest light to make electricity while also blocking it to keep the building cool.

So Hin-Lap Yip of the South China University of Technology and his team used transparent polymer solar cells that allow visible light through but convert near-infrared …